Holiday Gift Guide 2012

Welcome to the 2012 My Muay Thai Holiday gift guide. I find it hard to believe we’re in our 6th year… I only count 5 gear guides though I’m pretty sure I was getting divorced that year, booyah! For those of you new to MMT, I try to bring together a list of things that will bring us some joy/pain for the year to come.

Datsusara Pro Bag

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Our first item is the Datsusara PGB-04 Pro Bag. Our good friend Altermark has been putting one through it’s paces in a longterm test, hopefully he’ll have a full review up soon. The Pro bag is big enough to carry all your sparring gear, + a pair of Thai pads. It’s made of hemp, for it breathability and anti microbial properties. I think the bag looks great, it’s subtle.. doesn’t have a giant brand or logo’s plastered all over it. You can purchase them on the Datsusara website.

Weider Powerbell

I know a lot of you are incorporating kettle bell training in your conditioning regime. Kettle bells great for your core, and cardio…try alternating swings and clinch and knee on the bag, you’ll get what I’m on about. Kettle bells generally don’t take up a whole lot of space, but this product is kind of no brainer. It offers you the flexibility of 5lb- 20lbs without having to own more then one set up. The only downside is I don’t think they offer any above the 20lb model.

SayHi Translate

Heading out to Thailand soon? Heading into the upcountry? If your Thai isn’t up to scratch you could try using Sayhi Translate on your smart phone. You speak it, it translates… I’ve tested it out and I’m quite surprised at how well it works. The only catch is that you’ll need to be on data or wifi… just unlock your phone and get a Thai SIM and you’ll be sorted. You can pick it up for your iphone here.

Opro 360 Respibelt

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A couple of years ago I was doing some crossfit, and one of the coaches there specialised in endurance training. He would have us to a load of gobble squats with Kettle bells in between doing 400 meter runs. He’d picked exercises that would deliberately fatigue our respiratory muscles. You would find yourself working much harder trying to suck air into your lungs. This bit of kit, is being used by triathletes and olympians at the moment… the idea is fairly simple, it offers up just enough resistance to your respiratory muscles to make you work that bit hard to breath… you can pick one up one the opro360 website.

Adipure

For those of you who’ve been wanting to jump into the the barefoot running/training trend but have too much self respect to be caught dead in a pair of vibrams toes shoes… then Adidas has got your back.. They’ve come up with their own version that won’t make you look like a hobbit. All the benefits of natural running with none of the ridicule. Your welcome. Pick’em up here.

Adidas ClimaChill Revovery Slides

This next product is perfect for the gym or the showers at the thai camp. To be fair, I’ve been to a lot of gyms in thailand where the showers were outside, and felt way cleaner then nearly all of the “gym” showers in the States and UK. Still these kicks are the perfect for the shower as they have a quick drying footbed. Remember you won’t want to wear this in Thailand after training… when your out and about in the markets… you’ll get all manner funk oozing up into your feet. Get’em here.

Alpha Heart Rate

There are a bunch of fitness out there that can track your heart rate, however you typically also need to wear a strap across your chest. The Alpha, takes your pulse from your wrist. I’m not sure what’s taken so long for someone to work this out.

Tuff Muay Thai Shorts

I did a review on these last year, but never mentioned them in last years holiday guide. Shorts are shorts right? Not really, these are hands down my favorite muay thai shorts to train in. The mesh liner keeps the shorts from sticking to you… mine are getting on a couple of years old and their still holding up quite well.

“Hot and Sexy Jean Claude Van Damme” Autographed poster

Don’t feel like training?, Lacking confidence in your upcoming or feeling down? As you may know it’s a tightly guarded secret in Thailand that JCVD is a good luck charm. If you need the edge you get him in your corner… Not all of us are as fortunate as Somluck, so I’ve got you the next best thing. This JCVD “Hot & Sexy” autographed picture will sort you out… JCVD say’s you’re OK! It’s a bargain at $125…on ebay!

About Author

I started My Muay Thai back in 2006... I was tired of reading about MMA, and wanted somewhere I could watch real muay thai fights, be inspired and connect with others who love muay thai as much as I do...
I currently live in London... when I'm not geeking out over muay thai you can find me bombing around London on my scrambler, ferreting out the latest street food gems.